In November 2012, Candra Thornton joined ACM as a gallery manager. Among her responsibilities, Candra oversees the Early Learners programs: Baby Bloomers and Cub Club.

Candra has a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education from The University of Texas at Austin and 20 years of experience working with children. We caught up with Candra to ask her a few questions about herself and the Early Learners programs.

Q: Tell us about your previous experience working with young children.

A: I started as a kindergarten teacher then joined the staff of an Austin preschool working with toddlers while I finished graduate school. I have also worked with children under the age of five in various research projects as a professor of Early Childhood Education.

Q: Why did you choose to work at ACM?

A: My primary professional interest has always been to work with young children. As my career progressed and I developed research interests, I focused my attention on the benefits of play in this age group. At ACM, I’m able to utilize what I love to do, working with young children, with what I believe in, the power of play.

Q: What new things do you have planned for Baby Bloomers & Cub Club?

A:There will be traditional weekly themes like colors and shapes, but I am introducing new themes such as “Colors of Us” and “Yummy! Yummy!”. I am also bringing in new guests for Sing-a-long as well as increasing the frequency of their visits.

Q: How do you develop ideas for activities?

A: Many ways: some I’ve done with children in the past, some I’ve accumulated over the years and saved for later, and some come from random resources like books and the internet that I put my own twist on to make appropriate for ACM’s youngest visitors. Great ideas are everywhere.

Q: In your opinion, what is one of the most important things to know about early childhood development?

A:Young children experience the world in qualitatively different ways than we do and to accommodate that, they should have as many opportunities to engage in open-ended, hands-on free play as possible.

Q: What’s a fun learning activity parents or caregivers can do at home with young children?

A:Yummy! Yummy! Bunny Sundaes is a wonderful activity for young children. Bunny Sundaes is a multi-sensory activity that includes questions about sights, smells, sounds and tastes. This activity also involves math. How much yogurt is being measured? How many bunnies are being added on top? Is there more strawberry or banana fruit in the bowl?

Here’s how to do it at home:

You’ll need:

Vanilla yogurt (dairy or non-dairy)

Annie’s Bunny Grahams or something similar

Two fresh strawberries (cut in ½ or ¼)

One third of of a banana, peeled.

Instructions: Provide a plastic knife and with supervision, allow children to “cut” (sometimes it comes out more like mashing) the strawberries and banana. Children then place into a bowl ¼ cup yogurt, the cut fruit pieces, and 5 bunnies. There are endless variations on how Bunny Sundaes can be assembled and enjoyed, so allow children freedom to explore and indulge.

Once you’ve made your Bunny Sundae. Dig in and enjoy this tasty treat.

How do solar ovens work? Well, as you can tell from your day-to-day observations, the sun not only provides light, but also works as a heat source. That’s why it’s warmer during the day, when the sun is out, than it is at night, when the moon is up. With a solar oven, you use reflectors (aluminum foil) to reflect the sun’s light into a closed container and the heat is trapped inside. With this heat, you can cook some really great snacks!

If you do make a solar oven, remember that the oven can get very hot (just like ovens in kitchens), so you should be very careful when using the oven. Heat-resistant cloths or hand covers are great ways to protect yourself from the heat.

To make your own solar oven, you will need the following materials:

– a pizza box

– aluminum foil

– plastic wrap

– tape

– pen or pencil

– scissors

– ruler

First take your pizza box and draw a square around the lid of the pizza box about two inches from the edges. Cut along only three edges: the front and sides of the pizza box. Do not cut the fourth side that runs along the back of the pizza box.

Fold along the uncut line so that you form a flap. After folding the flap back, wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil and tape it down. Make sure that the shiny side is facing out and that there are no wrinkles in the foil.

Next, open up the pizza box and cover the insides with foil. Make sure to cover the bottom and the sides of the pizza box. Have the shiny side of the foil face up and overlap the pieces to cover any gaps. Tape into place.

While the pizza box is open, we’re going to cover the hole made by the foil-covered flap with plastic wrap. Before cutting a piece of plastic wrap, you can tape down one side and then unroll the plastic wrap across the hole. Make sure the plastic wrap is the right size and that it is taped down tightly so that no air can get out.

After these steps, you’ve completed your solar oven!

Click for more to see how to make some yummy food with your new solar oven!

Have you ever wanted to send a secret message to someone? Have you heard about invisible ink? Invisible ink is ink that cannot be seen until revealed with a secret trick. If you want to make your own, edible, and invisible ink, follow the directions below!

To make your invisible ink message, you will need the following:

– a few small containers

– at least one of the following:
lemon, orange or grapefruit juice
milk
sugar solution*
baking soda solution*
*(You can make the sugar and baking soda solution by mixing sugar or baking soda with a little bit of water until the water is saturated with the sugar or baking soda.)

– cotton swabs

– a piece of paper

– a heat source, such as a hair dryer, an electric iron, or an oven (set to a low heat, around 250 degrees, and check your message every few minutes!)

– a plastic tray

First, place your piece of white paper on the plastic tray. Then, dip a cotton swab into one of your invisible inks, write your secret message on your piece of paper, and wait for the message to dry. I used lemon juice, a sugar solution, and a baking soda solution for my invisible inks.

My wet inks!

Once the message has dried, put it under your heat source (a hair dryer or iron) and watch your message reveal itself!

After being heated, my messages were revealed!

What is the science behind your invisible ink message?

Well, what do all of the inks have in common? Lemon juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, milk, sugar, and baking soda are all edible (they are all things that you can eat). Now, think about when you bake cookies for too long. They turn brown or black. Thus, when we “bake” our edible inks, they become brown or black also!

My lemon juice became a light yellow and my baking soda solution turned a light brown. My sugar solution didn’t show up very well, and I think it’s because I didn’t mix enough sugar into the water. If you use the baking soda or sugar solution, make sure you use enough baking soda or sugar!

Which “ink” did you use? Did you try multiple inks? Which did you prefer?

Our favorite part of Easteris decorating eggs with beautiful colors! Paint usually leaves a mess, but we found an easier way to decorate your eggs! After you’re finished, you can then make a bunny basket to carry your eggs in.

All you’ll need is:

White Eggs

Tongs

An empty egg carton

Crayons

First, have an adult hard-boil the eggs and remove them from the hot water with tongs. Dry them off, and set the eggs in the carton or on top of a plastic bottle cap to cool.

Next, use the crayons to color the eggs any way you want. You can remove the wrapper or even shave the crayons to add a sprinkle effect.

The eggs can be slippery from the wax, so be careful when picking them up to decorate the other sides.

Finally, let the eggs sit in the carton for about an hour to fully dry.

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Now we need to make an easy basket to hold your eggs in, or any that you find while Easter egg hunting!

Materials:

Scissors

Half gallon milk or juice carton

Stapler

Construction paper (pastel colors)

Glue or double sided tape

Hole punch

Pipe cleaners

Optional: Cotton ball

1. Have an adult cut a panel from the carton (with the spout) and save it to later make a handle. Staple the open spout closed.

2. Use construction paper to cover the carton (you can use glue or tape).

3. Use the hole punch in the center of the spout ridge to create a spot where the whiskers go. Place the pipe cleaners in the holes, then glue on the googly eyes.

4. Next, the bunny needs ears. Cut ear shapes from the same color construction paper, then cut smaller ear shapes (pink) to glue on to the middle of the ears. Staple the ears on the top of the base so that they stand up.

5. Finally, create the handle by trimming the cut carton side, covering it with construction paper, and stapling it to the basket!

6. Add the finishing touch of gluing a cotton ball to the tail of the bunny basket.

Hand held pencil sharpener or a pair of scissors (be careful, an adult may need to shave the crayons)

Waxed Paper

Permanent marker to write your own message

Optional: glitter to add a little shine!

Step 1: Peel the paper off of the crayons (try soaking in warm water for better results). Use a pencil sharpener or scissors to shave the crayons over a large sheet of waxed paper. Spread the shavings evenly on the paper. The more shavings, the better!

Step 2: This step is for parents–Set oven to 175 degrees and place the cookie sheet into the oven. Time may vary depending on how much shavings you use, but it should take about 5 minutes to completely melt. Keep checking on the progress every few minutes!

Step 3: After the crayon shavings have completely melted, take them out of the oven to let them cool for another 5 minutes.

Step 4: After allowing the crayons to cool, you can draw heart outlines to cut out! Try different sizes to see how many you can make!

Step 5: After you’re done cutting out your hearts, decorate them for your Valentine–add glitter, written messages, or anything you desire!

The hearts really start to shine when you hold them up to a light or place them in a window!

The holidays are a wonderful time to get together with your family, don’t let the never-ending holiday cheer overwhelm you and turn you into a Grinch!

Here at the museum, we like to avoid becoming Grinch-y by making our own Grinch cookies! The recipe is originally from Betty Crocker but we found it on a cool blog called Living the Domestic Life (click on these links for the recipe!)

These gooey, green, mint-flavored, chocolate-chip cookies will subdue the Grinch in all of us. And if you would like a fun coloring activity to do while you wait for your cookies to bake, print out this Mr. Grinch Coloring Page!

November 25th is National Parfait Day!

Did you know that the word “parfait” means “perfect” in French? This certainly makes sense because parfaits are a perfect dessert, you can create the perfect combinations of flavors to excite your very own taste buds.

A parfait consists of layers of ice cream, whipped cream, syrups, fruits, granola, nuts, the combinations are endless!. I bet this is sounding familiar to you isn’t it? Well parfait is basically a fancy word for a sundae!

While chocolate is my favorite, use your imagination to create a wide range of single and mixed flavors. I bet you have some Thanksgiving leftovers, wouldn’t a Pumpkin Parfait be marvelous?

If the delightful combination of delicious flavors in a parfait is not enough for you, try eating it over a sink. That’s right your kitchen sink! Not only is November 25th National Parfait Day, it’s also Sinkie Day.

Christmas shopping and Thanksgiving leftovers provide the perfect reasons to enjoy a quick meal. It’s the day many people discover the benefits of becoming a SINKIE and go on to many years of dining over the sink.

Who wouldn’t want to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving by eating a parfait over the sink? Enjoy!